Oct 11
1987
The AIDS Memorial Quilt goes on display
On this day in 1987, the AIDS Memorial Quilt was first exhibited in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. The quilt began when activist Cleve Jones, looking to channel his grief over the death of a friend, started a sewing project. He asked others to join him, and the quilt eventually grew to include 1,920 panels, each measuring 3 feet by 6 feet, the same size as a grave. By 2012, the quilt’s 25th anniversary, it had become too big to display on the National Mall.
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Featured Event
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The Second Vatican Council, announced by Pope John XXIII in 1959, opened this day in 1962, lasted for three years, and remains a symbol (controversial to some) of the church’s readiness to adapt to modern life.
Featured Biography
Brown Brothers
Eleanor Roosevelt, born this day in 1884, was a United Nations diplomat, a humanitarian, the wife (and distant cousin) of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and, in her time, one of the world’s most widely admired women.
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Liz Roll/FEMA
2005
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pumped the last of the floodwaters out of New Orleans, some 43 days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast. [Who gets to move on from Hurricane Katrina?]
© MedioImages/Getty Images
2002
The U.S. Congress passed a bill, by a wide margin, granting U.S. President George W. Bush broad authority to use force against Iraq, as Bush and his administration continued to make the case for what became the Iraq War.
Alexander Mokletsov/RIA Novosti Archive (image no. 612748)
2000
In a ceremony in London, the International Women of the Year Association awarded the title Greatest Woman Achiever of the Century to Russian cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova, the first woman in space. [Take our quiz about famous astronauts and cosmonauts.]
AP/Shutterstock.com
1991
During the confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas—who had been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court—the lawyer and educator Anita Hill testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and accused him of sexual harassment. The hearings polarized Americans, and Thomas was narrowly confirmed, 52–48.
JSC/NASA
1984
American astronaut Kathryn Sullivan became the first woman to walk in space. [Test your knowledge of space exploration.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1976
The Toxic Substances Control Act was signed into law by U.S. President Gerald Ford. It gave the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate chemical compounds found to be or suspected of being harmful to public health or the environment.
© National Broadcasting Company
1975
The TV sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live debuted on NBC and became a landmark in American television. [Explore a list of all SNL cast members since 1975.]
Bachrach44
1974
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was established by U.S. President Gerald Ford to oversee the civilian use of nuclear materials in the United States.
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1971
Former Beatle John Lennon’s Imagine was released as a single; an iconic song of hope and peace, it is arguably the best-known work of his solo career.
NASA
1958
The uncrewed U.S. deep-space probe Pioneer 1 was launched into lunar orbit. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about objects in space.]
© 1944 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
1944
The film noir classic Laura, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, premiered in New York City. [Take our film buff quiz.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-11455)
1899
The South African (Boer) War began between Great Britain and the two Boer (Afrikaner) republics—the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State.
© Regine Poirier/Shutterstock.com
1890
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was organized in Washington, D.C.
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1737
The Hooghly River Cyclone made landfall near what is today Kolkata. The storm killed an estimated 25,000 to 45,000 people and caused widespread destruction, and it remains one of the most significant disasters in South Asian history.
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1531
Protestant troops under Jörg Göldli were defeated by Roman Catholic troops at the Battle of Kappel during the Swiss Reformation. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about European history.]
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